TOM SORENSEN - Charlotte Observer
By: Jill Santuccio
  
                        
After graduating from the famed journalism program at University of Missouri, Tom Sorensen worked at newspapers in St. Cloud and Minneapolis prior to coming to the Charlotte Observer in 1981. Married to wife Sharon with two grown sons and two rescue greyhounds, he recently underwent six months of cancer treatments. During his time with us at the Rotary Club of Charlotte this Tuesday, he had the room in stitches with his dry wit. Perhaps his quotes, quips and one-liners tell it best:
 
On e-mails and message boards: "I respond to almost every e-mail … well, if you send me five I might only respond to four … but message boards? It's sad that so many people are living in their parents' basements."
 
On telling others about his cancer: "My dad died of cancer so I didn't want my mom to worry. I didn't even want to tell my two grown sons so they wouldn't worry. Then I saw that my cancer surgeon graduated from ECU … "
 
On readers' responses to his cancer: "I'm not a person who everyone likes. But even people who didn't like me showed their support after I wrote about it."
 
On Michael Vick: "My whole life has changed in the past six months and everything looks different to me now. But when I wrote that Michael Vick deserves a second chance (after his dog fighting conviction), all of those people who treated me as the beloved cancer columnist started hating me again."
 
On getting to the bottom of the Richardson sons' resignations: "I got the story: Jerry fired his kids. Even John Hancock (from WBT) called me and said he couldn't get the real story. Just goes to show you that you can't believe everything you hear but you definitely can believe everything you read."
 
On Brett Favre: "I think he's the only guy in the NFL who graduated high school before I did."
 
On Bob Johnson: "The second-best NBA team owner Charlotte has ever had."
 
On legendary sports writer Bob Quincy: "My favorite story about Bob is when he threw his laptop out the press box window. Now, I couldn't do that because I can't afford to replace the $75 laptops they give us. The best part about Bob is that he didn't care what anyone thought about him. You can't write a column and care what people think."
 
On major-league baseball coming to Charlotte: "We like to pretend we're a big sports city, but I don't think we can support it. On the weekends? Sure, people will come from Greenville and all over the place. But not on Tuesday nights."
 
On Steph Curry: "He has an amazing work ethic. Fred Whitfield of the Bobcats says he's out there practicing and playing every day. He's growing and adding muscle. That shot he has? That's not something you can teach. And he's not affected by the fame. He's a good kid from a great family."
 
On the decline of baseball: "It's slow. It moves at a summer-like pace. We're now in the age of Facebook and Twitter - who else but middle-school girls care when a guy tweets that he's wearing a gray shirt and drinking a beer - and baseball is too cerebral … it takes time to unfold."
 
On wrestling: "You've got to love it. No pro-wrestler ever says 'no comment.' There are good guys and bad guys. The plot lines are convoluted and the steroids are rampant. But as long as Ric Flair is around I'll follow it."
    
Head Table: David Barnhardt, Liz Irwin, John Snyder, Ed McMahan, Lynn Wheeler, Robert Freeman;
Invocation: Chase Saunders;
Visitors & Guests: David Erdman; Health & Happiness: David Zimmerman; Song: Pam Jefsen; Piano: Thomas Moore; Photos: Bert Voswinkel

• John Galles was pleased to introduce Ellison Clary as the club's newest member. Elly operates Ellison Clary Comprehensive Public Relations and has a long time connection to writing and editing newspapers. That means he will immediately be tapped to join the Reporter committee! Welcome Elly at eclary@carolina.rr.com.
             
• Bill Allen asks for your prayers for his sister, Janet, who is in home hospice in New Jersey; Debbie Daniel will take a leave of absence while caring for her brother-in-law, Jeff, who is suffering from cancer; George Robinette has completed his first round of chemo and is doing well. His treatments have been in Pittsburg, where he is participating in a clinical trial. George will have about four weeks at home before returning to PA to finish up the treatments.

• THANK YOU Tigger Alexander! Tigger's donation of $600 has landed him the gourmet meal and wine tasting for three couples that was auctioned off with proceeds benefitting the Rotary Scholarship Golf Classic. Good job Alan Adler and Chip Scholz.

• Janet Fortner received the Schley R. Lyons Circle of Excellence Award for her leadership with Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region; A couple from Virginia has donated $2.2 million to Davidson College in honor of long-time friend, former Davidson President Sam Spencer and his wife, Ava; Sam Woodard was named in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America; Congratulations to Emily Lauren Westbrook and Frank Wade Cantrell who were married May 30th. Wade is Henry Cantrell's son and John's brother.

Should you question the eligibility of any nominee, contact the Rotary office by 09/14/2009.

The Rotary Club of Charlotte, The Charlotte Business Journal and the Charlotte Chamber have joined to sponsor a community-wide search in the region. This fall, the sponsors will choose the 22nd winner of the Excellence in Leadership Award, to be presented November 3rd at the Rotary Club. Nominations (one typed page, include brief bio) should be emailed to chltrot@bellsouth.net by October 13, 2009. Additional details can be found by clicking here or with committee chair, Phil Van Hoy.

The Group Study Exchange (GSE) is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young business and professional men and women between the ages of 25 and 40 who are in the early years of their professional lives. The 2009-2010 exchange will be with Brazil and committee chair Pat Gray is asking Charlotte Rotarians to be on the lookout for team nominees. Please visit www.rotary7680.org, our programs, group study exchange for details. Pat will address the club when he returns from China.